Note problems with displacement ventilation in offices, where people have to sit still and experience cold discomfort for the legs and feet in conjunction with heat discomfort at head height. Describes an empirical study of simulated winter and summer operating conditions using human subjects at the National Swedish Institute for Building Research. The thermal manikin system VOLTMAN for the assessment of non-uniform thermal conditions was exposed to the same conditions as the subjects to investigate the relationship between local heat flow and sensations of thermal discomfort. Presents the results as diagrams and tables and discusses them. Provides suggestions for improving thermal comfort with displacement ventilation.

KEYWORDS: Displacement ventilation, ventilation, offices, thermal comfort, research, laboratory testing, manikins, Sweden.